The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday launched extensive search operations across over 35 locations in Mumbai and Delhi, targeting premises linked to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani. The raids, which are part of a widening money laundering investigation, follow two FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging large-scale financial misconduct and bank fraud.
According to sources, the ED has questioned over 25 individuals and examined records of more than 50 firms associated with the case. The agency’s preliminary findings suggest a “well-planned and thought-out scheme to siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors, and public institutions.”
The central investigation agency is reportedly scrutinising how unsecured loans were granted to RAAGA companies—entities belonging to the Reliance Anil Ambani Group—by Yes Bank between 2017 and 2019. The bank is believed to have disbursed around ₹3,000 crore in loans to these firms during this period.
Investigators suspect a quid pro quo arrangement, in which Yes Bank promoters allegedly received payments in privately held concerns shortly before sanctioning the loans. Officials have flagged several red flags, including the sanctioning of loans to companies with questionable financials, repeated use of common directors and addresses, missing documentation, use of shell entities, and “loan evergreening”—a practice of issuing new loans to repay existing ones.
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The ED is also probing allegations of bribery involving senior executives and promoters of Yes Bank, who are believed to have facilitated the disbursal of these unsecured loans. Key officials may have received personal payments or benefits in exchange for clearing questionable loans to RAAGA companies, sources said.
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Several financial regulators have handed over evidence to the ED. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has flagged serious lapses in Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL), a Reliance Group company, pointing out that its corporate loan book surged dramatically from ₹3,742 crore in FY 2017-18 to ₹8,670 crore in FY 2018-19.
In a separate development, the State Bank of India (SBI) has designated Reliance Communications (RCom) and Anil Ambani as “fraud accounts”—a label previously applied in 2020 but withdrawn after a Delhi High Court order. This recent reclassification is seen as part of a growing consensus among financial institutions regarding alleged financial misconduct involving the group.
The investigation remains ongoing, with more records expected to be examined in the coming days.
